Ariel Lancaster submits an application to Capture Inc. She's intent on gifting herself a unique thirtieth birthday gift: the captive fantasy she's always dreamt about. Signing with Capture Inc. gives her an opportunity to have it brought to life. The night is everything she ever dreamed and more; her captor takes her body, heart and soul, not just for the night but hopefully for forever.

John Martinez, part owner of Capture Inc., a club which fulfills clients darkest desires, never expected to meet the one woman he'd end up falling for though his own company. He convinces himself he can remain aloof, but once he meets Ariel, all thoughts of remaining detached are gone. She's his captive and he's taken charge of her pleasure, but she's taken charge of his heart.

Then Ariel's past collides with her present, and history plays an awful cosmic joke. She finds a future with John suddenly out of her reach, but she applied for pleasure and John's determined to see that she gets it.

Note:This book contains explicit sexual situations, graphic language, and material that some readers may find objectionable.

Excerpt

“So you’re really going through with this?”

Ariel Lancaster swallowed against the knot in her throat as an inkling of doubt slowly crept inside at her sister Isabel’s words. Her stomach filled with nervousness, but she managed to push the anxiety aside. Ariel wasn’t going to let any uncertainties stop her. She was positively going to go through with this. Though she loved her sister with all her heart, her determination to go through with this wouldn’t be changed.

She would have her ultimate fantasy fulfilled, and she would do it in a way where she was sure she wouldn’t be hurt, either physically or emotionally.

She moved her hand to the mouse and clicked the “about us” tab on the Web site. She hoped rereading the information a second time would reaffirm her decision that she’d made the right choice in selecting this particular club.

Capture Inc. was an exclusive club that fulfilled clients’ fantasies. They were very selective about their clientele, and each individual was interviewed by either John Martinez, the owner of Capture Inc., or his co-owner and younger brother Sean.

John. It was a common name, but still it threatened to bring a painful part of her past to the forefront of her mind. She’d worked hard to move on, and had hoped her past would stay buried. Though the outcome of the accident was more than she could have hoped for, the guilt had eaten her alive. She couldn’t forget the damage and pain she’d caused.

In all the years since the accident, every time she heard the name John, she’d force herself to forget, remembering there was absolutely no chance he would be the same person. If she didn’t squash the memories away, the guilt would consume her. It had taken her years to get to this point in her life, and she couldn’t allow herself to be swallowed whole by her shameful act.

There were probably millions of men named John in this world, and it would be a very slim chance he was the same one connected to her past. Besides, she lived in a different city now, and on the heels of that thought, she forced herself to concentrate on the here and now.

The club was John and Sean’s joint venture and had been in business for two years. All members’ identities were protected, and there was never sharing of any information. A background check was required as well as a psychologist’s evaluation, a physical examination, and a personal one-on-one meeting with either John or Sean. Capture Inc. employed men and women who were put through a more detailed rigorous credentials check, and employees were evaluated by the resident psychologist every six months to ensure they were still suited for the job.

The same information listed in a newspaper article along with a personal anonymous review was what caught Ariel’s eye in the first place.

Ariel didn’t think John and Sean’s requirements were extreme. Their prerequisites were strict for a reason: to protect each person. The club promised to make their customers’ fantasies come true, in every sense of the word. Though sex wasn’t listed on the Web site, the introduction posted promised to meet the customers’ satisfaction. Ariel would be delusional into thinking that statement didn’t include sex, but she’d bring that up when she met with the owner.

“This just isn’t you, Ariel.”

She could admit going ahead with her plan was out of character for her. She was, after all, a thirty-year-old history professor who maybe had had two boyfriends in her entire life. It was primarily because she’d always had her head buried in books, finding enjoyment in getting lost in them. But years of doing so had taught her men, especially the untamed type she was attracted to, didn’t find her love for history, nor her intelligence sexy.

So maybe she’d never meet the perfect man, who’d want to spend the rest of his life with her, but she damned well could at least give herself this—one full day of ecstasy.

“This may not be the normal me, Isabel, but I do intend to go through with the fantasy.”

She was used to keeping her dirty little secret buried, and until recently no one had ever known what that was. But she’d confessed to her sister, hoping she’d understand.

A capture fantasy bordered on insane for the simple fact that no one would comprehend why she wanted to be dominated and to have her control forcefully stripped from her. But the domination was only part of it. It aroused her, the thought of being tied down and completely helpless, at the mercy and in the hands of an alpha male.

Isabel rose to her feet and began to pace. “This seems dangerous, and the very idea that there is a company like this out there is insane.”

Ariel knew her younger sister’s doubtfulness was a mixture of worry for Ariel, and fear. Isabel had been attacked a month ago. Her purse had been ripped from her while she walked home, and the man who’d done it hadn’t ran away once he had her wallet and personal items. He had forced Isabel into an alley. But before he had the chance to do anything else to her, a couple who had seen the attack had bravely stopped it, shouting at the criminal, who in turn had run. Minutes later, the police had arrived, but the man had never been caught. Since then, Isabel had changed, becoming too overprotective and overly cautious. Besides work or visiting Ariel, Isabel rarely interacted with anyone else. Isabel had lost a part of herself that night, and it worried Ariel.

But Ariel knew the agreement she was entering with Capture Inc. would see to her safety. And she hoped Isabel would find some way to understand. This was about giving life to a dream that Ariel had never had the nerve to fulfill. All she had to do was remember that to keep her eye on the prize. Funny she would consider it as a prize, but to her it was something she wanted to desperately win.

“Isabel, I know you’re concerned, but I will be fine. I’ve submitted my e-mail application to the owners of Capture Inc., and I’ve already agreed to their background check. If everything is okay, someone will contact me to schedule a one-on-one interview, and I also need to pass the appointment with their psychologist.” The hard part was detailing her utmost fantasy on the paper, describing everything she wanted done to her, and trusting it to John and Sean. But she forced herself through it.

“You are a beautiful woman, Ariel. You walk down the street, and men can’t take their eyes off you. You will find someone who you can connect with if you give it time. Stooping to this ridiculous club is crazy and not you.”

Ariel stiffened and rose to her feet. She never once considered herself ugly. She knew she was pretty, and some even considered her above average. But this wasn’t about how she looked; it was about what she needed. “Besides the owners of the club, you are the only one I’ve trusted with this. I know it’s a hard thing to understand, and safety is a major concern for you. I’m not blind to it. I will be careful. But I’d hope you’d at least try to comprehend that this is something I have to do.”

Isabel shook her head. “I understand more than you think about wanting to go ahead with something you’ve dreamed about. But just because you yearn for it, doesn’t mean it has to come true or that it’s even right for you.”

Ariel couldn’t turn back the clock and pretend she’d never sent in her application, and more importantly she didn’t want to. “Who says our innermost fantasies were never meant to be? I don’t want to talk about this anymore. I’ve made my decision, and I’m sticking by it. I just hope it doesn’t change anything between us.”

Isabel jumped up and enveloped her in a hug. “Nothing you do or say will ever change how I feel about you. We’ve been through so much together, and I just want to make sure you’re safe.”

She felt relieved, the tension momentarily easing from her bones. “You have nothing to worry about. I’ll be fine.”

As long as she got what she was paying for, Ariel was sure nothing bad could happen.

* * * *

For two years, John and Sean had worked nonstop, building Capture Inc. into a successful venture. The concept succeeded in this day and age because of its uniqueness and their hard work. But working seven days a week was getting to him. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been out for some fun and relaxation. Now that Capture Inc. could stand successfully, he could bear to cut back a day or two a week.

He had no one special in his life to concentrate on, and it was one of the reasons it was so easy for him to get lost in his work. But all of it would soon change. Starting next week, he’d begin his new schedule and see where it led him.

John leaned back against his chair and opened the e-mail from an Ariel Lancaster. One of the requirements of Capture Inc.’s application was a picture submission, and as soon as he downloaded Ariel’s file, his muscles tensed in surprise.

The photo was a full body shot, taken up close. She was absolutely stunning. A few strands of her black hair were over her shoulder, and the tips of it touched her chest. Her skin was flawless and creamy smooth. She had blue eyes that were a delightful contrast against her dark hair. She was smiling, and it didn’t seem false as if she took it for the sake of the snapshot. Her lips were coated with a nude-colored sheen of gloss, and it highlighted her sexy, wide mouth. In her hands she held a pair of spectacles, and now he wanted to see her with them on. She wore a white button-down fitted shirt, a black skirt, and high heels. She looked like a corporate professional, and he couldn’t help but wonder what she wore underneath her clothes. Did she wear satin bikinis or thongs? Was her bra lace or sheer? He’d more than enjoy peeling off her clothes and finding out just how hot she was beneath.

His cock lengthened as he drank in the sight of her, his gaze catching every detail in the photo. He’d never had a reaction to a woman like this before, let alone a damn photo. It astonished him, caused his body to tighten in anticipation, and he was thankful Sean wasn’t there to witness it. He usually bedded women who wanted to have sex just for the sake of having a great orgasm. No strings attached, and he had no qualms about letting the women he’d seen know his position up front. But instinctively he knew he had to tread carefully here in more ways than one. The thought surprised him, and he didn’t know where it had come from.

Shaking his head and trying desperately to get a hold of his wayward thoughts, he skimmed though the general information quickly. All that and more would be verified by his staff.

He never got involved with his clients and never performed or participated in any of the fantasies. Detachment was his number one rule, but there was a desperation to him, a hunger to be with her.

Helpless and at the same time wanting to know everything about her, he began to read the fantasy section of the application.

There’s one fantasy I’ve always held true to my heart, and I’ve never been able to trust any male companion with it. I find it strange I’m going a route I would’ve never considered, and I don’t even know who you are. But the article written about your company in New York Time Square magazine held my attention, and though the idea of allowing a stranger inside my head scares me, I want this fantasy to come true.

Here goes. I’m on my way home from work, and little do I know what awaits me. I enter my home and kick off my heels. I head straight for my bedroom and reach for the buttons of my blouse. Someone’s in the room with me. I don’t get a chance to turn around, because he’s right behind me and wraps a hand around my waist. He slaps his gloved hand over my mouth before I even have a chance to release a scream. My nipples are pressed tight against my bra, and my pussy begins to throb. He doesn’t know how turned on I am, but he soon realizes, because the arm around my waist is loosened, and he moves his hand up to my breast to pinch a nipple. I feel his dick pressed against my lower back, the outline quite impressive, and in that moment I know his hard-on is solely for me.

John slowed his breathing, though it did nothing for the steel pole between his legs. This wasn’t the first time he’d coordinated a kidnapping or stranger-in-the-bedroom fantasy. But it was the first time he considered doing it with someone he was attracted to. And the kicker was he hadn’t even met her yet. Beautiful men and women applied to Capture Inc. all the time, but John never accepted them on looks alone. There were steps that had to be taken before someone could even be considered as a client, but suddenly John wanted to skip all of it and head straight for Ariel.

John lowered his gaze and continued reading.

I continue to struggle, because it kicks my adrenaline into high gear, but the stranger’s strength is evident as he holds me in a secure, sure way. He ties me up and binds my mouth, so he’s not able to hear my whispered pleas.

John rose from his seat and headed for the bar in his office. He poured himself a shot of whiskey and drank it. What the hell was wrong with him? His cock was rock solid, and all he’d been doing was reading her submission. This reaction was intense, even for him, and he was used to dealing with powerful emotions.

He’d have to meet with her. There was no doubt about it. He’d have to see firsthand if this was just a fleeting attraction. But his gut told him she was going to be more than that.